Historic Rainfall, Some Factories Halt Operations, Floods in Japan Kill More Than 100

10/07/2018

The death toll from the historic rainfall in western Japan reached 110 on Monday as rescuers stepped up efforts to clear areas hit by flooding and landslides. Some plants halted by the floods started to resume operations as the affected regions began the process of recovery.

Toyota Motor Corp., Daihatsu Motor Co., and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. resumed normal operations at plants in after fully or partially shutting down over the past few days. Work remains halted at the factories of Mazda Motor Corp., Panasonic Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Power and water in wide parts of Hiroshima and Okayama has yet to be restored, and many of the factories still shut cited the water supply as well as difficulties faced by employees in getting to work.

Nearly 80 people remain unaccounted for, according to national broadcaster NHK, and thousands still remain in evacuation centers after record downpours triggered devastation in wide parts of the region, mainly in Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures.

As of 3 p.m. Japan time, the death toll stood at 110, NHK said. The broadcaster also reported that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe canceled a planned trip to Belgium, France, Saudi Arabia and Egypt from Wednesday to cope with the disaster.